President Abraham Lincoln notified General Henry H Sibley on December 6th 1862 that he should execute thirty nine of the three hundred and three Santee Sioux.In early winter of 1862 three hundred and three Santee Sioux were tried by a military tribunal, and convicted of murder and rape. They were sentenced to death by hanging. Some trials didn’t even last five minutes. President Lincoln reviewed the records of the trials distinguishing between those who committed crimes against civilians and those who warred against the United States. An Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota; Henry Whipple who worked with the Dakota Sioux urged Lincoln intervene and use leniency. On December 6th 1862 Lincoln commuted the death sentence of all but thirty nine of the Santee. One more was given a reprieve.
At about ten am on December 26th 1862 the remaining thirty-eight Sioux were executed in Mankato Minnesota. The hangings held before three thousand people, were performed on a single scaffold platform and remains the largest mass execution in the history of America.
For more information this is a good web site
Dakota War of 1862
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